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So, we've been putting off a kind of basic question here. What is money? What is currency? How are the two different. Well, not to give away too much, but money has a few basic functions. It acts as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and as a un...it of account. Money isn't just bills and coins. It can be anything that meets these three criteria. In US prisons, apparently, pouches of Mackerel are currency. Yes, mackerel the fish. Paper and coins work as money because they're backed by the government, which is an advantage over mackerel. So, once you've got money, you need finance. We'll talk about borrowing, lending, interest, and stocks and bonds. Also, this episode features a giant zucchini, which Adriene grew in her garden. So that's cool. (10:35)[more]

In this video, we use the miracle of compounding to explain why it’s so important to save early and often. (05:29)
Consider these two scenarios:
First, meet Myopic Mary. She starts saving in her 30s, and by 45 years old she has $20K. Her intende...d retirement age is 65. Mary invests her money in a retirement fund with a 7% annual rate of return. She doesn’t touch the money until retirement. How much will she have by then? To get our answer, we’ll use the Rule of 70.
The Rule of 70 lets you approximate the time it’ll take for an investment to double, given a specified rate of return. To apply this rule, you divide 70 by the rate of return, and it’ll tell you the years needed for the doubling. In Myopic Mary’s case, her investment will double every decade.
With 20 years to save, she’ll have roughly $80K by retirement.
Imagine though, that Myopic Mary goes back in time, becoming Meticulous Mary.
Meticulous Mary starts saving in her twenties. By 35, she has the same $20K to invest for retirement. Based on the Rule of 70, it’ll still take 10 years for her money to double. But Meticulous Mary has a longer time horizon, from 35 to 65 years old. Thus, her money will double three times. Her final investment value will be $160K, compared to Myopic Mary’s $80K.
That improved result comes through the miracle of compounding. Compounding gives you defined points where your money grows exponentially. The longer the time horizon, the more growth that occurs.
Now—where does opportunity cost fit into this? Well, for every dollar Myopic Mary invested at 45, that turned into four dollars by the time she was 65. For Meticulous Mary, every dollar invested at 35, turned into eight dollars by retirement. That’s called winning the opportunity cost battle, through compounding.
Like we said, the right course is to save early and save often.[more]

Owning a home is a huge part of the American Dream. But is the dream of homeownership really all it’s cracked up to be?
In this new Econ Duel from Marginal Revolution University, Professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok weigh in on the issue. Each... representing a side of the home ownership debate, the two professors ask what’s smarter—to rent, or to buy?
On the “buy” side, Tyler Cowen shares the tax advantages of buying a home as well as the effect homeownership has on one’s stability and savings regimen. Does buying a home force us into better savings habits?
Against those arguments, we have Alex Tabarrok, coming down on the “rent” side of the equation.
Among other points, he talks about the real beneficiary of tax breaks (hint: It may not be you!). Along with that, Alex tackles the trials and tribulations of home-buying, in places like San Francisco, New York, or Boston, where a combination of scarce building permits and increased demand drive up home prices. Plus, doesn’t owning a home -- and committing a 20% down payment -- break the diversification rule of good investing?
All that said, though, here’s the real question that matters—which side are YOU on? (06:17)[more]

Moving story about Bangladesh's Central Bank roll-out of an ambitious plan to help improve the financial life of child workers. However, the program is struggling to connect with the potential young bank depositors. The Wall Street Journal reporting.... (05:25)[more]

Writing a check is a critical skill to finance. This video goes through, step-by-step, describing each part of a check, how to use it, and what it means. The speaker's voice is a little difficult to understand. (04:07)

This video features Dave Ramsey explaining the principle of compound interest. The video includes a chart to assist in the explanation of the concept. This selection could be used to motivate students to begin savings plans at a young age. (03:19)

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